.

No rest for the wicked is about the most apt aphorism I can think of when it comes to my life. That's not necessarily a good thing. I'm not bragging, by any means. I know there are those people who always act so beleaguered when they talk about how much they have to do. (more past the break!)

I don't want to be that guy. But yeah. I'm busy. I'm trying to finish up novel #2 by the end of the year. It's going to be close. Then I've got to dive immediately into a project that will act as kind of a complement to The Black Goat Motorcycle Club. I thought, "Oh, wouldn't it be fun if I did this to go along with the release of the novel?"It turns out "this" is a huge project and a lot of work. Hopefully, it will pay off. (Hmmm. Maybe that is the most appropriate aphorism for my life."

So you probably saw the post last week. I put "Blood In" out there as a free audiobook and a $.99 cent download on Amazon. I originally wanted it to be free, but making that happen on Amazon - giving away something for free, that is - is a huge pain in the ass. In fact, everything about getting the story out there was a hassle. Except for writing the story itself. That part was actually easy.

Which leads me to something else . . . I was talking with Allison about various writing-related things. The conversation can be boiled down to another trite old saying. "If a tree falls in the woods..."You see where I'm going with this? You can write, podcast, draw, sing, or make ice sculptures all you want. If you don't put the work in to promote it, then it's all kind of wasted.

Not entirely wasted!

Don't misunderstand me. It's wasted if you want it to be a variable in some sort of commercial equation. If the act of creating in and of itself is enough for you, then go for it. I have friends - very, very talented friends - who churn out the art that is their calling. They produce a lot of it. A lot. And in spite of the fact that I consider them extraordinarily talented, some of them haven't achieved any sort of real, monetary success. That's partially because you have to spend time marketing your work (obviously, there are a number of other factors here, some of which are out of their control). That's tricky, I know. It takes time away from actually creating. And it often takes money out of your pocket - money you've never actually made from your art. It's a conundrum.

On the other hand, I have friends who I would consider marginally talented. Nothing I've ever seen from them has blown me away. No, I will never tell you who I think these people are. Ever. (Ugh. And there's a chance that a friend is reading this, thinking it's them.) Regardless, some of these folks with middling talent have been very successful. Because they're good at promoting themselves. Oh, and they work really hard. Don't forget that part.

I just want to write things and have people buy them. The end.

And if you're lucky, maybe that will happen! Sometimes a thing will go viral with very little effort whatsoever, but waiting for that moment to hit one or any of your projects is folly. Might as well just play the lottery.

But without further ado, let's continue helping spread the word about other people's stuff. If you're reading this, you're probably part of our small little community. Let's help each other out.

Next 2 The TracksFirst up is a little 3-man band hailing from Texas and New Mexico. These are good people and very close friends of mine. Right now, they travel the country in a van, writing music and playing shows. It's a hardcore lifestyle. Check out a show if they're in your area and if you like what you hear, throw some money at these guys.

Joseluis SolorzanoI once had a friend who, in a fit of frustration, said, "If I could just sell a damned script!"I had to come back at him with, "Well, you have to write one first." Joseluis is doing that. And he's sharing it with us. If you have time, give it a read. You can find his script, a full feature called "Positive Thinking", right HERE.

Heath FerrisHeath wrote a book! And you can read it for cheap! I love that cover. Looks so familiar. If you have time, check it out and if you liked it, leave a review. It's called "Adulthood In Infancy".

Chepo PenaHave you heard of Star Wars? What about Mexico? Ever heard of that? In Mexico, they have this children's game that's kinda like Bingo, from what I understand. My friend Chepo has created a Star Wars version of the game and accompanying art prints. We have several around our house. Right now, these are even featured in a museum. A museum!! Buy 'em HERE. At the very least, go look at all of the clever ideas and outstanding artwork.

The Swamp Music PlayersA swell bunch of fellas and some talented musicians. Also, probably dangerous. It's LoFi, rootsy, swamp music. Check it out. I think you'll like it. Oh! And the last track on their album has a special guest you might enjoy.

OK. Fine. It's me. I'm the special guest. But everybody be cool. It's a robbery.

What I do for a living, I enjoy it lots, but it is not everything I wish I could be doing and it is very demanding of my time and in stress. At least it's financially stable.
I wish I could be (also) making music.

When I was studying my career I learned of the utility function. It is a matter of preference. Every person has a different utility function for things, and it changes as the needs and interests of the person change.
It is a way of rationalizing choices to be made by people (in the case study we just used it for investment portfolios)
Total value of option 1 = preference for variable A * value of A that option 1 will produce + preference for variable B * value of variable B that option 1 will produce +... (and so on, for as many variables to be included in the model, so that you can compare among your options)
So, for example...
Value of working in my job vs value of working doing something else that I love
can be compared by

value of working in my job = how much I value financial safety on a scale from 1 to 10 * how much financial safety working in my job will I have + how much I value enjoyment on a scale from 1 to 10 * how much enjoyment working in my job will I have
vs
value of living off making music = how much I value financial safety on a scale from 1 to 10 * how much financial safety living off making music will I have + how much I value enjoyment on a scale from 1 to 10 * how much enjoyment living off music will I have

It is viable to include expectancy (probabilities), negative values, more variables in the abstraction (how many years can I expect to work, does it allow me to have a family, can I do other things I enjoy, etc.), and even function based preferences (maybe I only value financial safety if it is above the level "never having to worry about money ever again" or maybe it is not so different for me if I get a steady monthly $1000 to $1200 vs a steady monthly $950 to $1050)

I could skip it and go with a hunch, based in feelings or instincts.

Is it better to rationalize choices before making them or to make choices on the go, as best we can on the moment?
Either way, we have to make peace with living with our decisions.

That's a tough one! I learned some lessons about it the hard way, but . . . I'm still working on living with those. There's something to be said for the old adage, 'fortune favors the bold'. Success requires risk and sometimes, especially for creative types, so does happiness.
I worked a successful corporate job for almost 15 years and my creative output was minimal. I was in a comfortable place - working 40-50 hours per week in a cubicle, but making plenty of money, had great health insurance, etc. The problem is, that the job drained me creatively. It was exhausting.
While I do appreciate the equation you've laid out and lived by it for quite some time, I finally realized that I hadn't been doing anything else because of fear. I was (and still am, to a degree) very risk averse.
Now I work a different job - still 40 hours per week - but one that is much more rewarding. It's fun! And rather than it draining me creatively, sometimes it even stimulates me. So . . . there are some intangibles to the value measuring you've described.
I'm still very much a proponent of doing what you need to do to survive. But if you have the drive to create, you should seriously evaluate your level of need. I won't be the guy to say 'go live in a van and create!' . . . unless that's what you're comfortable with.
But you will have to take some risks.